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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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And another 5 ways to Influence

by Rick Baker
On Jan 31, 2014

Understand People Do Only 3 Things: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things

Good Habits are things people think and do that help them achieve long-term desires and goals. Bad Habits are things that people think and do that do not help them achieve long-term desires and goals. Good leaders use these simple definitions to inject clarity into their lives. Then good leaders work at reducing their performance of Bad Habits and expanding their performance of Good Habits. And, good leaders test New Things...relentlessly seeking more Good Habits.

Take Talent To Task

Good leaders are fascinated by people's talents. When people's talents show a capability of aligning with the trust of the leader's goals, good leaders ensure the talented person has access to (1) opportunities to put the talent to productive use, (2) specialized knowledge to complement the talent, and (3) time to practice skills to hone the talent into a personal strength. Then good leaders don't leave things to chance - they help people connect personal strengths to important tasks. 

Don’t force change…construct it with comfort

Good leaders know change is constructive only when people are comfortable. And personal and business growth happens when people learn how to expand their comfort zones. Knowing these things, good leaders consider people's comfort/stress levels and design change in increments that help expand comfort zones without triggering the destructive consequences that naturally happen when people are forced into discomfort zones. Good leaders also know this correct approach to change 'dominoes' as confidence escalates.

Repeat clearly, "I do have time!"

Good leaders know the importance of leading by example. So, they know if they say "I don't have time" or "I'm too busy" their followers will pick up on that, think the same way, talk the same way, and act accordingly...spreading the lack-of-abundance mindset to one and all. Knowing this, good leaders remove the "I don't have time" & "I'm too busybad habit from their thoughts and words. They replace the bad habit with good habits: as examples, they apply the 80/20 Rule and they practice abundance thought and solution talk.

Change character for the better

All great leaders changed their character. Perhaps Abraham Lincoln performed one of the greatest self-transformations. When he was a young man he had the habit of openly criticizing other people. In 1842 Lincoln publicly criticized Illinois state employee James Shields. Shields took exception to the criticism and challenged Lincoln to a duel. The 2 men faced one another with weapons in hands. Fortunately their seconds intervened. Lincoln used the incident as a life-lesson and he chose to change his character for the better...rarely criticizing others. Lincoln's change of character took him from the dueling field to the White House. 

Thought Tweet #913

by Rick Baker
On Jan 15, 2014

Thought Tweet #913 The more you squeeze their heads in the vice the less clearly they think. 

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

While a little pressure may go a long way, constructive criticism is an oxymoron and excessive criticism is guaranteed to cause headaches.

Thought Tweet #910

by Rick Baker
On Jan 10, 2014

Thought Tweet #910 I now know constructive criticism is an oxymoron. So how do you recommend we go about doing performance reviews?

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Do you derive pleasure out of criticizing others? If so, don't read on...

So, you do not derive pleasure out of criticizing others. So, why do you continue to do it? It is never constructive. If you don't believe this ask your boss or your spouse or one of your friends to surprise you when you least expect it with some criticism. When they lay the surprise criticism on you observe how you react...your emotions/feelings/actions. 

If that doesn't work ask your boss or your partners to give you some criticism at your next performance review.

Don't blame the People

by Rick Baker
On Dec 23, 2013

Business contains only 3 things: People, Process, & Situations. 

When it comes to forecasting people's behaviour, place your bet on Situations over People. [We learned this from Mark Weber] Another way of looking at it...When it comes to commenting on people's behaviour, place your blame on Situations not on People.

  • Learn how to observe better - make that a life-long goal. 
  • Learn how to observe people better, with a view to understanding them better - as Stephen Covey taught, Seek First to Understand.
  • Learn how to observe situations better, with a view to identifying patterns in real-time and knowing the consequences of those patterns in real-time.
  • Learn how to anticipate Situations - that is key to leadership and success.
  • Do not set the bar so high people will fail to hurdle it...recognize you and most other people would likely act the same way in the same situation.
  • Do not back people into corners. For example, do not ask questions that any reasonable person might answer with a lie maybe a little white lie but nonetheless a lie.
  • Do not criticize others: know from personal experience, constructive criticism is an oxymoron.

When it comes to discovering why things are not working, place your attention on People before Process.

  • Processes cannot talk on their own behalf. Processes do not explain themselves to People.  Processes rely on People to talk to People.
  • People-memory is prone to fail. Remember, People are prone to misremember. So, you must help your people improve memory & recall. To do this - get attention, generate interest, tell stories, provide real-life and relevant examples, strive to make your messages stick
  • Provide tools to help strengthen the bond between People and Process. Customize your tools so they fit both your People and your Process. Checklists are terrific tools. 1-Page Tools are terrific tools. 
Summing up...
  1. Anticipate Situations.
  2. Design Processes that will help People perform better in given Situations.
  3. Explain that good Process to your People. Then repeat, repeat, repeat.
  4. Provide tools that help People bond with Process, in Situations.
  5. Don't blame your People.

Thought Tweet #875

by Rick Baker
On Nov 22, 2013

Thought Tweet #875 Making new errors proves you are innovative and learning from your errors proves you are open-minded and change-tolerant.


The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Change is a good thing...even if you disagree with that, you must agree there's a lot of it out there so one might as well get accustomed to it.

Fear of making mistakes is a real spirit killer.

Constructive criticism is an Oxymoron.

With just a little help, Creativity springs back to life.

Delegation: The Decision-Making Engine of Business

by Rick Baker
On Nov 13, 2013

Delegation is the decision-making engine of business.

The Delegation engine is fuelled by Influence.

Influence is built on a track record of releasing control and growing trust...all laced together, consistently, with Vision, Values, Rules, Goals, & Measures...all making best use of Talents & Strengths...and, together, learning lessons from errors made along the road to Success.

 

 

And the key to successful Delegation: make Decisions around How you will go about Releasing Control and How you will go about Growing Trust. For most people and most businesses, these things do not just happen naturally. They only happen after a great deal of forethought, self-analysis, and good planning. 

Practice the 80% Rule: If someone else can do the Task 80% as well as you can do it then Delegate.

And remember...

Constructive Criticism is an Oxymoron...so choose to celebrate lessons learned from failures rather than criticizing others' errors.

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.